Congressman Dennis Kucinich on Disability Rights

Dennis Kucinich is a longtime supporter of people with disabilities and their struggle for equal rights. Congressman Kucinich believes all of our people should be able to participate in all avenues of American life.

As an example of his commitment to these principles, Kucinich recently delayed campaigning to stay at his post on Capitol Hill fighting Bush's proposal to block-grant Medicaid -- a proposal which would have reduced support for the community-based services on which many Americans with disabilities depend. Kucinich has strongly supported such services in his Ohio district, as when he helped save the Tremont Neighborhood Opportunity Center in Cleveland from closure.

In Congress, Kucinich has fought for full financing of the shamefully under-funded Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which requires the federal government to provide 40% of the extra cost of educating students with special needs. In the 107th Congress (2001-2002), Kucinich cosponsored several bills with this objective. Most recently in the 108th Congress, Kucinich was an original co-sponsor of H.R. 2107, the Keep Our Pact Act, which required the full financing of the IDEA.

Kucinich has supported the Rehabilitation Act, which helps provide job training for people with disabilities; the Blind Empowerment Act of 2001, which increases disability insurance for blind individuals; and the National Health Insurance Act that would provide affordable, comprehensive health care to all.

As President, Kucinich will nominate equal rights-oriented judges who interpret the Americans with Disabilities Act broadly, and he'll propose an amendment to the ADA to ensure the coverage that was intended prior to restrictive rulings by Republican-appointed judges. Kucinich will also increase resources to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and to the Departments of Justice, Education, and Health and Human Services civil rights divisions to enforce the rights of people with disabilities.

A Kucinich administration will support community-based services, home-care, and adequate resources for families with children with severe disabilities. While other candidates do support these concepts with words, only Kucinich's plan for universal health coverage will make it possible for these goals to become a reality.

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